In the scenario described, a therapist working at a free university clinic treats elementary school children with behavior problems referred by a social service agency and is also a doctoral candidate proposing to use data collected from these children for a case-based research project.
Key Issue: Parental Permission for Research Use of Data
When a therapist intends to use data collected during clinical treatment for research purposes, parental permission (informed consent) is generally required because:
- The subjects are children (minors) , who cannot legally provide informed consent themselves.
- The data collected during therapy is initially for clinical purposes , not research.
- Using clinical data for research constitutes a secondary use of information, which requires explicit consent.
- Ethical guidelines and regulations (such as those from Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and federal regulations like the Common Rule) mandate informed consent from parents or legal guardians before involving children in research.
Correct Statement About Parental Permission
- Parental permission must be obtained before using the children's data for the research project, even if the data were collected as part of clinical treatment.
- The therapist must clearly explain the research purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, confidentiality, and the voluntary nature of participation.
- If the data were collected without prior consent for research, the therapist must seek IRB approval for a waiver or obtain consent retrospectively before using the data.
- Simply having clinical permission or referral from a social service agency does not substitute for parental permission for research.
Summary
Aspect| Requirement
---|---
Use of clinical data for research| Requires parental permission (informed
consent)
Subjects (children)| Parental permission mandatory
Data collected before research consent| Cannot be used for research without
consent or IRB waiver
Ethical oversight| IRB approval needed for research involving minors
If you want, I can help draft an example parental permission form or provide more detailed guidelines on ethical research with children.
